Cheeseburger Craves First Championship
The Ring of Honor cult favorite has his sights set on the Six-Man Titles.
2018 is the year of the Cheeseburger.
IHOP changed its name in a hugely successful publicity stunt, Domino’s has added an American Classic Cheeseburger pie to its menu and the Ring of Honor cult favorite has been stacking his resume.
He competed in the New Japan Rumble at Wrestle Kingdom 12, entered his first Super 8 tournament, went to war with Bully Ray in ROH and just this past weekend, ate an F-5 from Brian Cage in the Over Budget Battle Royale.
Although he was unsuccessful at ALL IN: Zero Hour, being part of history was just as satisfying for the relatively young grappler. Cheeseburger has been wrestling for only six years, and in that time, he has traveled up and down the East Coast, honing his craft and putting smiles on faces. He got to meet a lot of his fans from around the world at Starrcast, the first wrestling convention he’s ever appeared at.
The New Jersey native will partake in another first at the end of October as he embarks on Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea. He’ll be facing familiar foe Beer City Bruiser during the Sea of Honor tournament.
Cheeseburger spoke with The Wrestling Estate last week about ROH and NJPW taking over Madison Square Garden, his plans for Death Before Dishonor on September 28, his training school and more.
How did you feel about the Fight Without Honor against Will Ferrara at the recent ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia?
Cheeseburger: “I loved it. I don’t really get to do no rules, no disqualification matches, so I was very happy to finish off the feud with Will in a strong way. Philly is always one of our best crowds. You can always expect a very loud, crazy crowd – being in that tightly-packed ECW Arena is always fun. Sometimes, these TV days can go longer than usual. We try to keep them to four hours, but sometimes, we go over and that taping in Philly was about five hours. But the people in Philly stayed with us all the way until the main event.”
I was kind of surprised that the blow off didn’t happen at Death Before Dishonor. Do you have another match scheduled for the pay-per-view?
Cheeseburger: “I wish we could have done it at the pay-per-view, but TV is just as important. TV is our main bread and butter. As of right now, I don’t know what’s planned for Death Before Dishonor. I’ll be there both days so if not at the pay-per-view, I’ll be at the TV tapings the next day.”
We have to talk about the G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden. How did you find out about it? Did you guys get an email or anything?
Cheeseburger: “No, I found out the same time everyone else found out when it was announced. Everyone kind of heard a little about it when the news leaked out where everyone wasn’t sure it was happening. I saw Cary Silkin in Philadelphia and the smile he had on his face, I told him, I know what that smile means. It made me so happy to see how happy Cary was about everything.”
That’s great. How do you feel the partnership between ROH and New Japan has been?
Cheeseburger: “It’s been wonderful. Madison Square Garden is the most famous arena in the world, so even for the New Japan talent, it’s a big deal for them to be able to wrestle there.”
What would your dream scenario be for the G1 Supercard?
Cheeseburger: “I would say either a single’s match with (Jushin Thunder) Liger or a single’s match with Kushida. They are high up on my bucket list right now. I’ve tagged with both, but I’ve never faced them as opponents.”
With the success of ROH, NJPW and ALL IN, as well as WWE’s stock continuing to rise, right now has to be one of the most exciting times to be a professional wrestler.
Cheeseburger: “Absolutely. I was telling someone this recently. I feel like this is the best time in history to be a wrestler. The exposure is the best it’s ever been. So many independent promotions have a streaming service somewhere. Then there’s Twitter, and even in the form of GIFs – just that alone gives wrestlers and promotions so much more exposure than we had a few years ago. There are so many places I can work and make a living. Whether it’s in the indies or Japan or Mexico, obviously WWE, NXT, Ring of Honor. There is such variety for the fans as well. There is something out there for everybody and it’s very accessible.”
Before the ROH TV tapings, the last time I saw you compete was at the Super 8 tournament in April. With it being your first time there, how was the experience?
Cheeseburger: “Yeah, that was cool. That was another thing I wanted to check off the list. I’m a huge fan of tournaments in wrestling, especially some of the popular independent ones from back in the day. The Super 8, King of Trios, Best of the Best, Ted Petty Invitational. The Super 8 is very prestigious to me because a lot of legends that I look up to have competed in it.”
Did anybody in the tournament stand out to you?
Cheeseburger: “There were a lot of great guys there. That was my first time seeing Richard Holliday. He did very well in all three rounds and was a very deserving winner. That was my first time seeing Ty Awesome as well. We had a conversation about him being partially trained by the Briscoes. I wrestled Anthony Greene in the first round. I hadn’t wrestled him in a few years, and he has improved a lot. Anthony Greene is one of the breakout stars of the independents.”
Agreed, I’m a big fan of Anthony Greene and love that he can open the show or main event – he’s that versatile. Let’s talk about your training school – the Worldwide Wrestling Dojo. How has it been since you opened in May?
Cheeseburger: “It’s been going fantastic. It was a big step for me, especially being so young. One of my big goals in wrestling was to have my own school – I just didn’t think it would happen so fast. Teaching is one of my greatest passions. It’s very cool getting to train these guys and girls coming in, seeing them progress and seeing them getting better and better. Our population of students has been growing more and more consistently. Right now I have seven fresh, new students that I’m training from scratch. We have a couple of people who are independent wrestlers that still come to training, too.”
PRESS RELEASE 👇🏾
Starting today I am pleased to announce a huge undertaking for me. Beginning today the Worldwide Wrestling Dojo will officially be opening in Bristol, PA. I’m very excited for the future, thank you to everyone offering support! pic.twitter.com/uuLcRMUpAH— Cheeseburger (チーバー) (@CheeseburgerROH) May 21, 2018
Was there a reason that it happened so fast?
Cheeseburger: “The location we’re at now was the previous home of the Ring of Honor Dojo, where I was a trainer at. Once they decided to move their facility to Baltimore, I decided to take over the Bristol location. I wanted to keep a place for my students to wrestle. Everything lined up and it was the perfect time for me to start the school.”
You also have the Jericho Cruise coming up. Have you ever been on a cruise before?
Cheeseburger: “I’ve never been on a cruise before. I don’t really know what to expect, to be honest. I don’t really party like that, so I’m wondering what I’ll be doing when I’m not wrestling. (laughs) I hope I don’t get seasick. Hopefully, I have a strong enough stomach for it. But it will be cool meeting different fans and seeing other wrestlers on the cruise. I can’t swim as well, so that’s a big worry of mine.”
(laughs) Good luck, man. Speaking of Jericho, I heard you mention on his podcast about staying realistic and setting small, attainable goals for yourself. What’s your next one?
Cheeseburger: “To win my first title in wrestling.”
Does it have to be a Ring of Honor title?
Cheeseburger: “No no, it doesn’t have to be, but I would prefer it. At the Philly tapings, I kind of formed a little group with my students Ryan Nova and Eli Isom. I would be very happy to attain the Six-Man Tag Team Titles with those guys.”
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